


Dashboard

by realmSpinner



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fluff, Humanstuck, M/M, Off-Screen Child Abuse, maybe a little angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 04:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realmSpinner/pseuds/realmSpinner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat just wants to hide away for the night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dashboard

John Egbert leaned heavily against the side of his small pickup, hand on the gas nozzle, waiting for it to click off. It was a small gas station, built for a small town, only open until midnight. A glance at his cell phone gave proof they had just made it in time.

Finally hearing the click he'd been waiting for, John put the nozzle up, closed his gas tank, and grabbed the receipt. Folding the piece of paper up and sliding it in his back pocket, he looked up at the convenience store. Through the windows, he could see the messy black hair of his best friend standing in front of the cashier, making a purchase. John took a deep breath, regretting it the moment his nose filled with the scent of gasoline, and perched himself once again on the side of his truck, waiting.

Karkat Vantas came out not even a minute later, with a pack of sour gummy worms crumpled in his hand and a frown on his lips.

“They were out of sour Skittles,” Karkat grumbled as soon as he was close enough not to yell for John to hear him. He rounded the truck to the passenger side, ripping open his pack of sweets. “Who the hell runs out of sour Skittles?”

John managed a wry grin and opened the door, climbing into the driver's seat. Karkat was beside him in an instant, all but slamming the passenger door shut. No matter how many times John assured him the door would close without slamming it, the shorter boy made it a point to make sure he wasn't going to be falling out any time soon.

Karkat grabbed a worm from the sack, ripping it in half with his teeth. He turned to look at John before holding out the bag.

“Want some?” Karkat offered. 

“Yeah, sure,” John answered, grabbing two or three. The fluorescent lighting from above beamed down through the front window shield, illuminating the right side of Karkat's face. John couldn't help his eyes from zeroing in on the bruised cheek again. He squished the gummies between his fingertips, swallowing any angry words that threatened to come out.

They'd already been over that.

The package in Karkat's hands crinkled every time he reached for another worm, the specs of sour sugar clinging to his fingers. John nibbled on his own, eye twitching slightly. He was never the greatest at handling sour things. He blamed it on growing up with a father who could easily win World's Biggest Sweet Tooth. 

The lights suddenly went out. The two teens watched as the cashier locked up and left, leaving them in silence.

“... so where to?” John finally asked, reaching forward to take hold of the steering wheel. Karkat shrugged beside him, leaning back against his seat.

“Anywhere but here,” Karkat sighed. 

After a moment of hesitation, John turned the key, revving the engine to life. With headlights illuminating the dark space around them, John drove the truck out onto a desolate road and turned right. 

“Do you want to just crash at my place?” John asked.

“And chance your father seeing this?” Karkat scoffed, referring to his bruised cheek. John sighed, tapping on the wheel. He was at a loss for what to do. The whole last week had been a piece of Hell, and getting that phone call from Karkat tonight had been a cherry on top of the sundae. 

It was a mere five days ago when Karkat threw all fucks out of the window and kissed John on his front porch after a movie marathon sleepover. To say John wasn't expecting something like that to happen was a blatant lie, and it made him feel incredibly guilty. He knew of Karkat's preference, he had caught onto all the little signs that pointed to Karkat having a crush on him, and just because John didn't want to deal with it, he tiptoed around it as much as he could.

He couldn't tiptoe around an embarrassed best friend who'd just kissed him.

Or, at least, that's what he thought, until Karkat hurriedly said he didn't want an answer any time soon, he just wanted John to know and think about it.

So for the millionth time, John had let him walk away without voicing his own feelings on the matter.

Really, he should have been used to knowing Karkat liked him. He'd known for months! But, for some reason, now that it was actually out, now that Karkat had kissed him, it resonated in his mind far more than it ever had. So much so, that two days after the confession, John managed a failing grade on his math exam.

Another notch up the crumminess ladder he went.

Then Karkat had suddenly went into what could only be a depressed mood. He didn't talk much, didn't eat much, didn't do much of anything for two days. At first, John thought it may be because of him, how he wasn't even acting like anything had changed since the confession, but as he poked and prodded, he realized it was family problems.

Again.

Karkat's home environment wasn't exactly a welcoming one. He was the only child to an overworked mother and an alcoholic father, of which John only had the displeasure of meeting once. John had never set foot in the Vantas household in the three years they'd known each other due to Karkat always trying to get away.

Then that phone call. 

\- 

“Can you come pick me up?”

“Dude, it's like eleven at night-”

“Please? I can't go home.”

-

They'd spent a good half an hour arguing. It was the first time Karkat's father had ever physically lashed out, and Karkat swore up and down it was only because he was completely drunk off his ass. John wanted to call child protection services immediately. Karkat had snatched his cell away and kept it out of reach until they calmed down.

John claimed he would only relent because Karkat was four months away from being able to move out on his own. Karkat gave him a dry smile.

John had noticed his pickup was under a quarter of a tank and proposed they go to a gas station, for lack of anything better to do or say. 

And now, even after the gas station, John was still at a loss of what to do or say. Beside him, Karkat had his head tipped back, eyes closed, and if it wasn't for the fingers fiddling with the empty sour gummy worm packet in his hands, John would have guessed he was asleep. The guy was just blindly letting John take him where ever he wanted to go.

After a little contemplating, John changed his course and headed for the hills right outside of town. The place was full of scenic routes and campgrounds; John's father had taken him up into the mountains tons of times when he was younger. He had all of the off-roads and look-outs memorized. There was one in particular that looked over their little town. He cut the engine off when they got to it, however, left the dashboard lights on.

Karkat stirred, knowing they had stopped, and slipped his eyelids open. He blinked, sitting up to get a better view of the lights below. It wasn't anything extravagant, most places being closed this late at night, but a full moon held high in the sky, casting enough light to make the sights interesting.

“... I've always known our town was small, but looking down at it, it's just downright pathetic,” Karkat remarked.

“I heard they are contemplating a Wal Mart!” John replied.

“Fat chance,” Karkat grumbled, leaning forward to take control of the radio, flipping through the stations until he found one that actually came in and wasn't playing something God-awful. John leaned back in his seat, wishing they were in a vehicle where the seats could recline back. “Let's go to McDonalds in the morning. I love their breakfast burritos, but I'm never up early enough to get them.”

“So we're just going to chill here all night?” John asked.

“Unless you have something better to do,” Karkat responded with a shrug.

“I could have at least stopped by my house and snuck in to get some blankets.”

“Are you cold?”

“Not really cold, but... it would have been cool to lay in the back of the truck,” John said, yawning. Karkat regarded him for a moment before facing downward, fingers fidgeting in his lap.

“Sorry for calling so late,” Karkat muttered. John instantly felt bad.

“No, no, it's fine! I mean, I'm glad you called me,” John replied earnestly. “You can call me any time. Especially for something like this! Actually, if you didn't call me about this, I would have been really mad at you!”

Karkat cracked a grin.

“I'm just... so pissed off!” Karkat said ardently, moving his fingers as if to choke someone. “Alcohol or no, how can you hit your own kid? Fucking hell.”

John reached up to turn on the ceiling light.

“Come here, let me see it. Does it hurt?” John beckoned. Karkat hesitated a split second before turning and leaning toward John, showcasing the bruise. 

“Not as much as it did,” Karkat sighed. John leaned close, gently running his fingertips along the darkened cheekbone. It wasn't anything huge, but clearly visible in a reddish blotch of color.

“How long do you think it'll take to heal?” John inquired.

“Who knows. I've never been punched before,” Karkat huffed. There was a moment of silence before Karkat suddenly reached for his seatbelt, yanking it off, and then reached to roll the window down. John watched with curiosity as Karkat maneuvered, slipping the upper half of his body out of the window.

“What are you doing?” John finally asked as Karkat sat on the door, one foot in the seat he had previously occupied and one dangling over the floorboard.

“TODAY SUCKED!” Karkat yelled at the top of his lungs, the sound ripping through the night. John jumped, not expecting the loud admission. After a moment's comtemplation, he unbuckled his seat belt and carefully climbed through his own window, sitting his ass on the door and folding his arms on top of the truck. Karkat glanced at him before turning back to the open air, “ALCOHOL IS FUCKING STUPID!”

John shook his head.

“Are we screaming out our problems?” John asked with a chuckle. He saw a small grin on Karkat's lips that vanished just as soon as it came.

“I CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE OUT!” Karkat shouted, dipping back dramatically. John tapped his fingers against his arms and took a deep breath.

“MY DAD MAKES TOO MANY CAKES!” John screeched. Karkat's eyebrows shot up, before a burst of laughter flew from between his lips.

“The fuck kind of a problem is that?!” Karkat asked.

“Hey, you try having your father shove cake in your face every day,” John grinned. Karkat rolled his eyes.

“THIS REALLY HURT!” Karkat shouted, bringing a hand to his cheek. John swallowed any angry remark he wanted to make, and instead focused on keeping the mood light.

“STEPPING ON LEGOS REALLY HURTS!” John yelled, grinning when Karkat laughed again.

“Fuck you, man, you're ruining this,” Karkat chuckled.

“CON AIR REALLY ISN'T THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD! I HATE MATH CLASS! WHY DID YOU MAKE ME ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS, ALMIGHTY DIVINE DEITY WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE UP IN THE SKY? RUDE!” 

John's grin grew as Karkat buried his face in his shaking shoulders, his laughter now muffled but present. 

“WHY WAS I STUCK WITH THIS FOR A BEST FRIEND?!” Karkat suddenly yelled, his cheeks red from laughing. He ducked his head in his arms again, though keeping his rust-colored eyes staring at John from over his arm. John fidgeted, feeling a warm prickle in his chest.

“Good friend, best friend. It is me,” John said, straightening his back proudly, before copying Karkat's pose, burying his chin in his arms, leaving his blue eyes visible. A breeze wisped by, and John observed as Karkat's bangs swayed, prompting him to lower his eyelids. Karkat suddenly took a deep breath, let it out, and tipped his head back.

“I LOVE JOHN EGBERT!” Karkat shouted to the skies. 

John felt his face grow warm.

“Jeez, Karkat,” John murmured, pressing his forehead against his arm.

“Any more ridiculous statements from you?” Karkat asked, as if he didn't just shout his feelings to the world.

“... MY ASS IS STARTING TO HURT FROM SITTING ON THIS DOOR!” John said loudly. Karkat snorted and made to climb back into the truck. John fisted his sleeve tightly. “AND I MAYBE LIKE KARKAT VANTAS. JUST A LITTLE. ENOUGH TO.. well, enough to try this dating thing? Maybe?”

The more he said, the softer his voice became and the more embarrassed he grew. He dared to glance at Karkat, and was rewarded by seeing the shorter boy's wide eyes staring him down. Swallowing, he turned his gaze away again.

“... get down in the truck,” Karkat suddenly said, before slipping back through the window. John took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, before slipping back inside. Karkat was leaning against the side of the door, facing his way with a nervewrackingly serious gaze. “Are you serious?”

John rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Well... yeah. It's not like I haven't been thinking about it since you kissed me,” John spoke. The bridge of Karkat's nose turned a rosey shade of red and a small smile crept to his lips. John fought down the answering smile that threatened to surface. Was it majorly sappy that seeing Karkat happy made him happy too?

“Well damn, this went from a pretty shitty night to a pretty awesome night, then,” Karkat said with a smile that... wobbled? John grew alarmed at seeing Karkat's eyes fill with tears. “Damn it..”

Karkat's hands flew up to cover his face. 

“What's wrong?” John said hurriedly, leaning over into Karkat's seat.

“Nothing, nothing's wrong, just me being an emotional roller coaster,” Karkat admitted with a short laugh, trying to wipe away the tears as they fell. Still a little freaked, John wrapped his arms around Karkat and pulled him into an embrace. Karkat fell against him. “I'm sorry, fuck, I don't even know why I'm crying.”

John ran his hand soothingly over Karkat's back.

“I knew you'd be happy because of my confession, but I didn't know you'd cry from happiness,” John joked, smiling triumphantly when a laugh escaped the man in his arms.

“I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that,” Karkat whispered, resting his head in the groove between John's neck and shoulder. “Life would suck pretty hard if you weren't here.”

John tilted his head to rest his cheek against Karkat's own head, his raven locks tickling his cheek. As John looked out onto their small town, he determined that, yeah, life just wouldn't be the same without his best friend. There was no telling what lied ahead, but he was sure the memory of Karkat's form curled next to his own in the dashboard light that night would stay with him forever. And when the morning broke, he'd face whatever he had to while holding Karkat's hand.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending feels like such a cop-out, I'm so sorry.


End file.
